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627:. Since the rights claimant in that case was extradited even though he was so old he would probably die in prison, and thus his rights to return to Canada would be constitutionally denied, in this case, constitutional denial of Burns and Rafay's rights to return to Canada as well made sense — as, whether executed or given a life sentence, Burns and Rafay, if convicted, were not expected to return.
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705:, and since states should work together to fight crime. However, there were also arguments that this extradition was contrary to fundamental justice. These included that execution no longer existed in Canada itself, and the legal importance of this state of affairs was reinforced by 40 years of continuity.
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While "hese miscarriages of justice of course represent a tiny and wholly exceptional fraction of the workload of
Canadian courts in murder cases," the Court wrote, "where capital punishment is sought, the state's execution of even one innocent person is one too many." The Court also acknowledged the
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In balancing the arguments that this extradition could be compatible or contrary to fundamental justice, the Court concluded that many of the goals of the Crown could have been met even if Canada had requested that the US would not seek the death penalty. There was thus an infringement of section 7,
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In considering the relationship between fundamental justice and execution, the Court wrote that "philosophic" views of fundamental justice that viewed execution as "inconsistent with the sanctity of human life" were not subject to judicial review, and that the Court could instead consider more legal
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In March 2001, less than a month after the ruling, Burns and Rafay were extradited to the United States with assurances from prosecutors handling the case that they would not seek the death penalty. During the trial in 2004 (it was delayed by a number of factors), prosecutors claimed that Burns and
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written, and held that extradition in this case, involving the risk of execution, would indeed be unconstitutional under the
Charter. Indeed, the government of Canada should always try to avoid execution, except in "exceptional circumstances" (likely to mean crimes against humanity). However, the
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to extract the confessions, a practice that is illegal in the United States, but legal in Canada. After the investigation was complete, Burns and Rafay claimed their confessions were false, highly manipulated, and that jurors were biased by the media coverage of the crime. Nonetheless, plans were
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This ruling states that the admissibility of such evidence may be limited in cases of very young or vulnerable suspects. Burns and Rafay were among the youngest suspects ever targeted in an RCMP undercover operation. In late 2014, both men filed paperwork to seek an appeal in light of the 2014
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might then be of little relevance to a section 12 debate if the
Canadian government restored the death penalty in Canada, the Court did hint that execution "engages the underlying values of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment," noting its impossibility to correct (in cases of
753:. The court cited statements by the Cabinet to characterize this and other acts of Parliament. "In his letter to the respondents, the Minister of Justice emphasized that 'in Canada, Parliament has decided that capital punishment is not an appropriate penalty for crimes committed here...'."
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issues such as "the protection of the innocent, the avoidance of miscarriages of justice, and the rectification of miscarriages of justice where they are found to exist." Hence wrongful convictions were especially to be feared in cases involving execution.
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case had held that it was not a breach of fundamental justice to extradite persons regardless of the risk of execution, the Burns case was special because it involved
Canadian citizens; section 6 rights against exile were used to reinforce this argument.
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s "balancing process", the Court wrote that various factors considered in this process will change with the times, and in this case the Court was confronted with more of the "practical and philosophic difficulties associated with the death penalty".
665:, to be deprived only with respect to fundamental justice. The applicability of section 7 was thus evident through the infringement of Burns and Rafay's right to life, liberty and security of the person, since "Their lives are potentially at risk."
650:, there was precedent that the government of Canada has some responsibility to consider possible outcomes of extradition under section 7 of the Charter (and section 12, like other legal rights, helps to define the broad principles of section 7).
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Rafay plotted to kill Rafay's family and share the money from an insurance policy and the sale of the family home. Burns claimed that his confession to undercover RCMP officers that he and Rafay killed Rafay's family was the result of
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Burns's family immediately began to fight to have the case overturned on appeal, alleging numerous problems with the investigation and improper rulings by the judge. In 2007, Sebastian Burns's sister produced a documentary about
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was important in defining fundamental justice, and while there was no international law against execution per se, international politics are moving in that direction, and more and more states have abolished the death penalty.
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In July 2014, the
Supreme Court of Canada ruled to limit the admissibility of evidence obtained in the sort of RCMP Mr. Big undercover operations that were used to obtain confessions from Burns and Rafay.
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409:. The decision reached that conclusion by a discussion of evidence regarding the arbitrary nature of execution although the Court did not go so far as to say that execution was also unconstitutional under
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Extradition without guarantees that the extradited person will not face the death penalty may be a breach of section 7 of the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and cannot be upheld under section 1.
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There were arguments that allowing a risk of execution could be compatible with fundamental justice, since the accused had committed a crime in another state and thus no longer had the benefits of
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provided them rights against extradition and to be charged in Canada (since the murders occurred in the US, Canada could only charge them with planning the crime, so this option was ruled out).
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Court rejected any arguments made under section 6, by citing precedent that while extradition, in and of itself, violates section 6, this was permissible under the reasonable limits clause in
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The Court cited statements from parliament on capital punishment. The judgement noted that parliament abolished the last death penalty under
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In May 2004, both men were found guilty of three counts of murder and each was subsequently sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of
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accused two
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While the government had a sufficient objective for infringing the right, namely working with the US cooperatively to fight crime and to keep good
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did not seek assurances in the case. Burns and Rafay launched a number of
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by police. The family is continuing its efforts, and a website has been posted that claims to debunk the entire case.
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case had indicated that extradition regardless of the risk of execution was not a breach of section 7. The Court in
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may seek assurances that the fugitive accused would not be subject to the death penalty. However, the
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Brian Hutchinson, "Parents of a triple murderer vow to fight: 'We should have screamed out loud'",
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by the police. Defense lawyers noted that no forensic evidence linked the two men to the crime.
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1127:"'The Confession Tapes' Re-Opens the Triple-Murder Case of Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay"
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Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
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Extradition might then breach fundamental justice because, according to precedent in
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Parts of this article (those related to Resulting extradition and trial) need to be
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by Linda Stasi, New York Post, September 15, 2007.(retrieved on December 14, 2008.
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The Fifth State - True Confessions - Timeline of Events - Aired October 14, 2011
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The extradition would be possible through an extradition treaty under which the
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of the Charter. The Court also found it useful to cite the case
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Minister of Justice v Glen Sebastian Burns and Atif Ahmad Rafay
875:"KIRO 7 News - 48 Hours Mystery Unravels Bellevue Murder Case"
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959:, canada.com, February 4, 2008; retrieved December 14, 2008.
995:, CBC News, November 24, 2003; retrieved December 14, 2008.
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939:, CTV News, August 26, 2007; retrieved December 14, 2008.
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of the Charter, which includes a right to, for example,
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List of Supreme Court of Canada cases (McLachlin Court)
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While section 12 was of little direct consequence in
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1048:"Killer's sister looks at 'Mr. Big' confessions"
983:, November 5, 2008; retrieved December 14, 2008.
1060:, August 29, 2007; retrieved December 14, 2008.
937:Filmmaker explores issue of coerced confessions
1035:"B.C. men sentenced to life for triple murder"
8:
734:was specifically mentioned), the US and the
612:The decision of the Court was unanimous and
536:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
61:Learn how and when to remove these messages
993:"Vancouver men on trial for triple murder"
911:Bowal, Peter; Saini, Preet (May 7, 2015).
678:" of the Canadian population. Still, the
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877:. Kirotv.com. 2007-09-13. Archived from
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1125:Dawson, Raechel (October 20, 2017).
901:, cbc.ca; accessed October 13, 2017.
534:adding citations to reliable sources
291:Court of Appeal for British Columbia
289:Judgment for the respondents in the
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1072:, scc-csc.lexum.com, July 31, 2014.
849:SCC Case Information - Docket 26129
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42:This article has multiple issues.
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107:"United States v Burns"
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324:Claire L'Heureux-Dubé
230:United States v Burns
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432:(1991). In
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